The Digital Communications Commission (DCC), the highest decision-making body of the Department of Telecom, approved a penalty of Rs 30.5 crores ruling in favor of Reliance Jio. The penalty is to be paid by Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel against whom the case was registered for not providing interconnection points when Jio launched its operations in the year 2016.
The decision, made by the DCC in June this year, has now been approved by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI). It termed the move of denying the interconnecting points as anti-consumer and an attempt to stifle competition. According to reports, due to this failure of compliance, Jio users were unable to make calls to users from another network. Reliance Jio, on being launched, offered free services for months. This forced the rivals to cut prices and accept lower profits as well as sparking a wave of consolidation in the sector.
While the decision was welcomed by Reliance Jio, both Airtel and Vodafone Idea have criticized the decision.”This issue pertaining to points of interconnection has been examined by the DoT, various parliamentary and judicial authorities with no case for any default established,” Vodafone Idea, India’s biggest wireless carrier said in a statement, adding, it will “explore all options, including seeking legal recourse” to protect company interests.
A spokesman for Bharti said the company was “extremely disappointed” and the decision would further burden the high stress in the telecom sector. Bharti is said to be considering to approach a more appropriate forum.
Reliance Jio Registers Another Win
